Neglecting the basics.
It’s an all too common mistake among entrepreneurs who are caught up trying to do everything to get their businesses off the ground. But while many entrepreneurs have no choice but to be CEO, strategist, salesperson, HR manager, accountant and not to mention ∁Eparent ∁Eit is important to note that disregarding the fundamentals can be the start of the death dive of a business.

Jim "COACH" Hunter, Senior Partner of Tokyo-based project management company PM-Global, illustrated the importance of following the fundamentals by handing out free cash and injecting some clear sense into the madness of business-building at the 4 October, 2005 EA-Tokyo "Global Entrepreneur's Toolkit: Proven Techniques, Tools & Tactics" seminar.

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Taking action
Coach kicked off his presentation by holding up his Global Entrepreneur’s Toolkit ∁Ea small steel box “containing 35 years of knowledge, learning and fun and a lot of sweat, blood and tears. EFirst out of the box was a 10,000 yen bill. He asked a simple enough question: “Who wants it? EWhen no one moved, he repeated the question until two keen participants made a dash for the cash. “Remember we are talking about tools, techniques and tactics. Action and passion ∁Eyou don’t get anything unless you take action, Ehe said, driving his point home.

Tools
Coach then outlined the following Tools for business success, going into detail for a number of them:
• Passion
• Fun ∁E You can’t make money unless you’re having fun! (If you work hard, play hard), and
You can’t make money unless making money is more important than having fun!
• Money
• Integrated Lifestyle ∁E“I thought I had to separate my work life and my personal life, ECoach recalled. “However, I learned they don’t have to be separated ∁Eyou integrate them. The best way to succeed in business is to make it your life. E
• Family & Friends ∁ECoach suggested that entrepreneurs do not have to be alone. “How can you achieve your goals without friends and partners? E
• Business Team ∁E“You’ve got to have a business team even if you are an independent entrepreneur. Reach out and get people together as a so-called informal board of directors. They should act as mentors. You need the feedback and the bandwidth of a team. E
• Success Vows
• Focus ∁E“Don’t spread your business too widely. Focus on a particular area. If clients ask us for other things, we don’t do it ∁Ewe will bring in partners and subcontractors, utilize alliances and share the wealth of that business. E
• Professional Traits
• Affirmations
• Alliances
• Partners
• Philanthropy

Peak Performance“You are not going to achieving by sitting in your chair raising your hand, ECoach advised. “You have to go for your goals with high activity and a high level of action. EHe outlined that the kind of person who can help themselves achieve peak performance:
• Plans for the future - Desires to improve
• Takes responsibility - Is a good communicator
• Sets goals - Visualizes desired results
• Takes action - Asks for what they want
• Seeks positive support - Takes risks
• Never gives up - Knows own personal strengths
• Responds to feedback - Has little need for praise

….and 12 important Professional Traits
1. Honest and dependable
2. Reliable
3. Punctual
4. Gets along well with people
5. Cooperates with authority
6. Accepts and handles responsibility
7. Is continually learning and training
8. Speaks well and listens effectively
9. Works with minimum supervision
10. Can solve personal and professional problems
11. Reads with understanding
12. Enjoys their job

Alliances are also critical to the success of your organization, Coach said. In his experience, the pie you are going after is always big enough for everybody, and the more you share the pie, the bigger it gets. “The more you bring people in (ie: as subcontractors or consultants) to do your work, the bigger the pie gets because your personal bandwidth increases. E

Tactics
• $1,000,000 Customers ∁E“Why have a customer if you are not gong to make a million dollars from him? ECoach asked. “Why not make every customer a million dollar customer ∁Eper year? The goal is to make every customer into a long-term customer and a relationship. E
• Long-term Partnerships
• Knowledge Transfer ∁E“You have skills, the customer hires you for those skills, share it with their employees. Don’t hide it or keep them to yourself. The more you share, the bigger the pie gets and the more business opportunities you are likely to get with that customer. E
• Principles & Ethics
• Trust, Confidence, Respect ∁E“Of everyone you deal with on a daily basis ∁Eyour employees, your customers, your partners ∁Ethis is incredibly important. You have got to have confidence in everyone you work with. E
• Short-term Greed & Long-term Vision ∁Eis a challenge Coach says he is always dealing with. “Short-term greed is relatively easy ∁Ethe challenge is to go after the big, long-term goals. E
• Sponsorships & Participation
• Hunter Osmosis Theory (H.O.T) ∁E“Means that your motivation and priority must be focused on results and success. If your motivation is self-centered and ego-driven, you are wasting your time. E
• Collaboration
• Detailed Growth Strategy ∁EDifferent ways to achieve corporate growth are: Company Size, Target Industries, Number of Customers and Investments. Taking the sales team as an example, Coach said, “If you have a product that you believe in, it will work. It will sell itself; you don’t need people to sell it. It takes patience not a sales team to get the message out. ETherefore, have the sales team set delivery targets instead of making sales pitches to clients.

Promote your profession
Even though creating a business is a challenging and necessary intellectual task, Coach and other business experts strongly advocate using very familiar tactics and techniques. Another technique in his toolkit is promote your profession. “Whatever your profession is: promote it, believe in it, have a passion for it! E

Don’t forget to do the mathOn the financial side, Coach warned that entrepreneurs need to have a good grasp of the financial principle: income less expenses equals profit. He described the family business he once started with his brother. Despite being familiar with everyday operations, the operation closed shop after six months. He made the mistake of thinking that every dollar in the cash register equated to profit and could be spent freely ∁Ea trap which eventually led to their downfall.

Coach also spoke about long-term gains and corporate value. As Chief Strategy Officer for PM-Global, he has the responsibility to set a long-term plan for his team, including for revenue. While several definitions of corporate value exist, Coach defines this value as: Revenue x 2. For example, if a business earned US$3 million, corporate value according to this model would be US$6 million.

Have FunFinally, despite how busy he gets, Coach encouraged people to celebrate their successes. “Success is an important part of your life. Recognize it, Ehe said. “Believe in yourself, work hard and have passion in everything you do. Little do you know that if you put these principles into practice, you will have a head start on reaching your business goals as an entrepreneur. E

Text: Jonathon Walsh and Natasha Thompson..
Jonathon Walsh is a professional Editor, Writer and Director of Business Grow, an innovative company specializing in providing a wide range of high quality Editorial Content and Advertising services.

Natasha Thompson is an experienced English Instructor who is eager to report on current business ideas and market trends in Japan.